Some of the spy-photographers that collaborate with us first spotted a camouflaged Mercedes-Benz C-Class Plug-in Hybrid almost a month ago, but since then we also managed to catch a glimpse of a model with much less camouflage, while today we can bring you a 2015 C 350 Plug-in Hybrid completely stripped out.
Apparently, the pre-production prototype was caught as it was unloaded from a truck near the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart, where a Research and Development center is also based.
Despite the fact that it will sport the unconfirmed C 350 Plug-in Hybrid moniker, the model will only have a two-liter internal combustion engine with four cylinders and a turbocharger, with an extra electric motor to be paired with an oversized lithium-ion battery.
Internally-codenamed M274 DE 20 AL, the two-liter engine can be found in any 250-branded modern Mercedes-Benz, where it delivers 211 hp (208 bhp) and 350 Nm (258 lb ft) of torque.
The electric motor is reported to provide an extra 70 hp or so and around 200 Nm (147 lb ft) of torque if not even more, making for a combined horsepower and torque that would resemble that of a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine.
The extra performance is not the main raison d'être for the model though, as the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C 350 Plug-in Hybrid won't be about cutting apexes on a track next to the future C 450 Sport or the C 63 AMG, but about fuel economy and even emissions-free driving.
A combined fuel economy by NEDC standards of around three liters per 100 km (78.4 mpg) is expected from the model when it actually gets officially revealed at the 2014 edition of the Paris Motor Show. In other words, you are looking at the most fuel-efficient C-Class in history, from 2015 in a dealership near you.
Despite the fact that it will sport the unconfirmed C 350 Plug-in Hybrid moniker, the model will only have a two-liter internal combustion engine with four cylinders and a turbocharger, with an extra electric motor to be paired with an oversized lithium-ion battery.
Internally-codenamed M274 DE 20 AL, the two-liter engine can be found in any 250-branded modern Mercedes-Benz, where it delivers 211 hp (208 bhp) and 350 Nm (258 lb ft) of torque.
The electric motor is reported to provide an extra 70 hp or so and around 200 Nm (147 lb ft) of torque if not even more, making for a combined horsepower and torque that would resemble that of a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine.
The extra performance is not the main raison d'être for the model though, as the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C 350 Plug-in Hybrid won't be about cutting apexes on a track next to the future C 450 Sport or the C 63 AMG, but about fuel economy and even emissions-free driving.
A combined fuel economy by NEDC standards of around three liters per 100 km (78.4 mpg) is expected from the model when it actually gets officially revealed at the 2014 edition of the Paris Motor Show. In other words, you are looking at the most fuel-efficient C-Class in history, from 2015 in a dealership near you.